Foo Fighters

Editor's Review:

When Dave Grohl impressed the world with his first post-Nirvana release, everyone realized that Kurt Cobain wasn't the sole source of that band's genius. Even more impressively, Grohl had played virtually every note of the Foo Fighters' phenomenal 1995 debut album himself, leading most people to view the band as the "Dave Grohl thing."
So it's not surprising that critics dissect The Colour and the Shape as if it's just Grohl's sophomore album. Hell, Grohl admits that the lyrics on the new album are his "therapist's notepad," following a painful divorce from his wife. But the Foo Fighters' sound has taken new turns, and you can blame or congratulate the band and producer Gil Norton (Pixies) for that.
Guitarist Pat Smear notoriously refused to accept the chords that Grohl suggested, steadfastly opting to experiment with his own wacky variations. Meanwhile, Norton was busy creating a crisper sound all around, adding clarity - or what some call "stadium rock" production. Whatever effects drummer William Goldsmith contributed won't last, because he left the band and was replaced by Taylor Hawkins, but not before Grohl re-recorded the drums tracks himself.
Regardless of who surrounds him, Grohl wafts effortlessly across the three musical genres he knows: pop, punk, and - yikes! - ballads. Miraculously, his voice handles it all: hard, soft, fast and slow. "Monkey Wrench," the album's first single and MTV clip, works itself into a beautiful frenzy even if it does seem to borrow from Hole's "She Walks on Me" (you can hear it when Grohl breaks from the regular melody and screams for a while without taking a breath). Grohl's slow songs, including "Walking After You," always capture inexplicably beautiful melodies. And yet, the most catchy songs, "Up in Arms" and "See You" are neither slow nor fast; they're simply perfectly poppy. "February Stars" is steeped enough in '70s metal-ballad harmonizing to be a high school prom anthem (remember Night Ranger's "Sister Christian"?).
Grohl admitted that he'd rather have The Colour and the Shape sound like a Queen record than a Rapeman record. Perhaps that explains why it's also available as a vinyl double album. Two lighters up!

- James Cury

First appeared in BAM magazine 5/30/97
Courtesy and © BAM magazine, internet © Synthesis Network.


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Record Label Capitol Released May 1997

Tracks 1. Doll 2. Monkey Wrench 3. Hey, Johnny Park 4. My Poor Brain 5. Wind Up 6. Up In Arms 7. My Hero 8. See You 9. Enough Space 10. February Stars 11. Everlong 12. Walking After You 13. New Way Home